Costa Mesa mayor wants tougher crackdown on undocumented immigrants

Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor said today he’ll submit a proposal to the City Council to study a further crackdown on illegal immigrants within city limits.

Mansoor said he wants help from state and local leaders to deport illegal immigrants who’ve committed crimes. He said many unlicensed drivers are illegal immigrants, but few people cited by Costa Mesa police for driving without a license are asked if they’re in the U.S. legally. The former Orange County Sheriff’s deputy said he’d like a study of whether Costa Mesa businesses could be compelled to use a federal database to verify that employees are legal residents.

"If someone is here illegally, the question is, why aren’t we even looking at this issue? Why do we continue to allow illegal immigration to be a problem in our community? It seems that people are too afraid to tackle the issue. I simply want to open up dialogue and try to address some of these issues," he said.

Five years ago, Mansoor backed a policy to place an immigration agent in Costa Mesa’s jail. He said it’s been successful – with about 1,300 people flagged for deportation after committing violent and nonviolent crimes.

Mansoor is running for a state Assembly seat. He said the announcement is not related to his political campaign. Mansoor made the announcement at an empty city hall chambers with no other public official.